Eddies get defensive to beat White Pigeon

January 18, 2006|JOHN VANDEN HEEDE Tribune Correspondent

EDWARDSBURG -- Edwardsburg didn't play like a 3-5 team Tuesday night. The Eddies crunched White Pigeon, 78-48, in a non-conference boys high school basketball game, making 61 percent of their field goals. They also had just eight turnovers and played stellar team defense. "I think our kids have learned a heck of a lot about defense in the last couple of weeks," said Edwardsburg coach Jeff Kozinski of the 30-point victory margin. "We continue to improve defensively. "David Daniels and Tony Hayes have really have really taken a huge step forward when it comes to leadership." Everyone on the 10-man Edwardsburg roster scored in a game in which the Eddies opened with a 10-0 run and never trailed. Edwardsburg led 20-14 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Daniels scored eight points in less than a minute while helping the Eddies expand their lead at halftime to 36-24. "That was huge," stated Kozinski of Daniels' effort. "He knocked down back-to-back threes." Edwardsburg then scored 12 unanswered points in the third quarter to push its lead to 57-32 going into the last period. Daniels led Edwardsburg with 19 points. Hayes added 16 and Adam Hancock 15. "We take high-percentage shots," Kozinski said. "If we take a shot that's out of our offense, the guys hear about it. The guys know to keep moving that ball until somebody is open." Tyler Nichols led White Pigeon (2-8) with a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers. However, White Pigeon made just 30 percent of its field-goal attempts. The Chiefs lost to the Eddies for the second time this season.